Artist&#39;s palette case



Jun 1, 19 A. R. WEISSFLOG ARTISTS PALETTE CASE Filed June 25, 1940 INVENTOR flnruun /i Wnssflos A; $2.

Patented June 1, 1943 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ARTISTS PALETTE CASE Arthur R. Weissflog, Pittsburgh, Pa.

Application June 25, 1940, Serial No. 342,273

1 Claim.

This invention is for an artists appliance and is for a case for receiving the palette, and if desirable, the brushes when the palette is not being used.

In painting with oils, the artist usually has small quantities of diiferent paints on his palette. When he discontinues painting and the palette is put aside, this paint, if it is left on the palette, will harden or a skin will form on it rendering it unfit for further use and making its removal from the palett difficult. Moreover, there may be as much a a dollars worth of paint or even more on the palette at such time, and it is uneconomical to lay the palette aside and let the paint harden. The paint is usually supplied in collapsible tubes, and if the artist wants to recover the paint it is necessary for him to open the end of the tubes and to transfer the paint from the palette into the tubes which is a tedious task and one which takes considerable time. This is particularly annoying to the artist who paints only as a hobby or in spare time. In this case a considerable amount of time has to be spent cleaning up the palette in proportion to the time available for its use. Moreover, the artist frequently secures a mixture of pigments that he may not easily duplicate, and if such a mixture hardens on the palette, the mixture becomes useless and he may never exactly secure the same palette therefrom. This case is provided with means for substantially exhausting the oxygen from the interior of the case either by pumping the air from the case, or by exhausting the oxygen chemically or by replacing the oxygen with some non-oxidizing or inert gas. By removing the oxygen from the interior of the casing, the oil in th paint on the palette is not oxidized and therefore it does not appreciably harden or deteriorate and may be kept in a usable condition between periods of use.

My invention may be more readily understood by reference to the accompanying drawing which illustrates certain embodiments of my invention and in which Figure 1 is a top plan view of a carrying case embodying my invention, certain parts of the case being broken away for the purpose of better illustration;

Figure 2 is a longitudinal section through the case in the plane of line IIII of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary transverse section showing a portion of th transverse section of the case; and

Figure l is a view similar to Figure 2 showing a slightly modified arrangement.

Referring first to the construction shown in Figures 1 to 3 inclusive, 2 designates a receptacle of generally rectangular shape having flat top and bottom walls 3 and 4, parallel side walls 5, and an end Wall 6. Th casing has one open side 1 which is preferably co-extensive with the width and thickness of th chamber inside the casing. The casing is preferably formed integrally from an air-tight substance such as one of the various plastics, or it may be formed from glass or it may be cast from aluminum. Instead of being formed integrally, it may be formed from sheet metal about a sufliciently rigid reinforcing frame with all of the joints Welded or soldered to make an air-tight enclosure. For the purpose of the present description, it may be assumed that the case is made of one of the phenol resins. The interior chamber 2 is of a size such that an artists palette P may b slipped into it and having a little clearance at the sides and ends. Wires or straps 8, as shown in Figure 3, may be built into the corners of the casing at one or both sides thereof to provide holders for the artists brushes B and also to prevent the paintcarrying side of the palette from coming into contact with the opposite wall of the interior of the casing.

Fitted onto the open end of the casing is a clo sure 9, this closure comprising a body member ID having a compressible gasket H on the inner face thereof and having a reinforcing strip l2 adapted to enter th open end of the casing on its inner face. The end of the casing, when it is formed of a thick material such as plastic, is beveled as indicated at l3 to more effectively seatand seal against the rubber gasket H. At each end of the strip i0 is a hook I 4. Secured to each side wall 5 of the casing is a tension fastener l5 similar, for example, to a trunk or luggage latch, each of these fasteners having a bail l6 that passes over the hook M for holding the closure tightly against the end of the casing.

For exhausting the air from the interior of the casing, a suitable pump is provided. In the drawing this pump is illustrated as comprising collapsible bellows I! having a hinged top plate I8 with a handle 19 thereon. A check valve 20 is provided in the top Wall 3 of the casing through which air may be drawn from the interior of the casing to th interior of the bellows. This check valve is illustrated as comprising a bushing 2| with an annular ridge 22 at the top end thereof forming a seat. The valve element is a metal disk 23 having a compressible washer 24 on the inner face thereof of a material such as rubber or leather and which is adapted to seal against the seat 22. A light tension spring 25 is provided for holding the valve element 23 in place. Any other valve may be substituted for the particular construction shown. The valve, however, is hermetically sealed by the use of suitable cements into the opening in the top wall 3 of the casing into which .it is fitted so that there can be no leakage of air around the valve. Th top plate l8 of the bellows is provided with an outwardly opening check valve. This is illustrated as comprising a ball 26 in a tapered opening 21. This ball is retained in place in a chamber v28 formed in the end of the handle, the chamber communieating to atmosphere through transverse ports. A compression spring 23 is provided to aid in forcing the bellows open.

The arrangement is such that when the closure 9 has been applied to the end of the casingand clamped into place, the operator may move the handle I9 up and down, thus withdrawing air from the interior of the casing and exhausting it to the atmosphere until a substantial amount of air has been removed and a partial vacuum created within the casing. Sufficient air may be removed in this manner to prevent material deterioration of paint on the palette for a sustained period of time, but it is recommended that if the palette is not removed after a reasonable time, the pump be again operated to exhaust any air which may leak into the casing. For example, as long as the artist is not using the palette, he may operate the pump once a day.

For releasing the vacuum within the casing when it is desired to remove the cover, a manually operable valve may be provided at a suitable point in the casing. Such a valve is indicated generally as 30 in the drawing, The valve is illustrated as being in the end wall 6, but it can be located at any suitable place in the structure, including the cover itself. It is illustrated as comprising a bushing 3| sealed into an opening in the end wall of the casing and having a nut 32 on the inner end thereof, this nut having a tapered opening 33 therein. Screwed into the bushing or stud 3| is a thumb screw 34 having a pointed inner end adapted to close the opening 33 in the nut 32. The thumb screw is also provided with a longitudinal groove 35 to provide a vent to atmosphere when the thumb screw is turned to unseat the point from the opening 33. In use the point of the thumb screw is usually seated in the orifice to form an airtight seal, but to relieve the vacuum, the thumb screw is turned to a slight extent to allow air to enter from atmosphere along the groove 35 and through the orifice 33 to the interior of the casing. Without the provision of this vent, it would be diflicult to remove the closure 9 from the open end of the casing against which the closure is pressed by atmospheric pressure when there is a partial vacuum within the casing.

In lieu of exhausting the air by means of a pump, it is contemplated that the oxygen may be exhausted by the use of some readily oxidizable material or by the use of some adsorbent material or by the combination of such means. It is also contemplated that the oxygen may be displaced by the generation of a vapor or a gas in the chamber which would be inert to the paint. In Figure 4 there is illustrated an airtight casing having a chamber 4| therein. It is provided at one end with a hinged closure 42 which may be opened to permit the insertion and removal of the palette, there being a latch 43 for holding the closure shut. At the opposite end of the casing is a similar closure 44 with a latch 45. In the interior of the casing adjacent the closure 44 is a perforated metallic partition 46 providing a compartment or chamber 41 which is separate from the chamber 4| but which communicates with the chamber 4| through the openings in the partition. This compartment 41 may be used to contain some compound or substance which will either evolve a gas to displace the air or which will otherwise produce an inert atmosphere in the chamber 4| or which will absorb or combine with the oxygen in the casing. For example, an absorbent material may be placed in the compartment into which a fluid may be poured such for example, as a volatile solvent that will fill the chamber with a vapor compatible with the paint to retard oxidation, or some substance for evolving carbon dioxide gas may be placed in this compartment, or iron filings may be placed in a bag, which may be wet and which will absorb oxygen from the atmosphere, or some other metal or chemical in place of iron filings may be used, or provision may be made for releasing a cartridge of a compressed gas such as carbon dioxide in the casing. If desired, some outwardly opening check valve generally similar to that shown in Figure 2 may be employed where the substance used is of a nature which creates pressure in the chamber so as to force out the air. Moreover, the arrangement shown in Figure 4 may be combined with the pump arrangement shown in Figure 2 so that the air may be exhausted by operation of the pump, and then the substance which is used in the compartment to create an inert at mosphere will be more effective. I The essence of my invention is the provision of a casing suitably designed to hold a palette and preferably also designed to hold brushes, of an air-tight nature and of a relatively thin fiat construction so as to be easily transportable and provided with means for rendering the atmosphere inside of the casing devoid of sufficient oxygen to harden the paint on the palette. In the drawing, the casing is illustrated as having fiat surfaces, but these may be bowed or arched outwardly to a desired extent where increased resistance to collapsing pressure is needed.

While I have illustrated and described certain specific embodiments of my invention, the invention is not confined to the particular construction and arrangement of the parts shown,

but may be otherwise embodied within the scope of the following claim.

I claim as my invention:

An artists accessory of the'class described comprising a relatively thin flat casing having an interior chamber of a size and dimension to receive an artists palette, said casing having a removable air-tight closure therefor of a dimension suchas to permit the insertion and removal of a palette, the closure being co-extensive with the full width of the casing, means for removing oxygen from within the casing, said means comprising a pump mounted directly on the exterior of the casing for exhausting air from the interior thereof, a manually operable release valve for admitting air to the chamber, and means within the chamber for preventing one surface of the palette from contacting the opposite wall of the chamber.

ARTHUR R. WEISSFLOG. 

